Defence Matters: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-25 ============================================================ Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland We are speaking about defence, something we have debated a few times. I would suggest that at some point it would be good if we were to have statements on peace. We have statements on defence and security but something we do not have or see enough of are statements on peace and the work of peace. This is the area in which Ireland has the most to contribute, to which Ireland can bring the most and in which Ireland has the record and credibility internationally. I will follow up on something Senator Clonan said. I will discuss expenditure and then move to the triple lock. It has been a choice to have very poor rates for cadets. It has been a choice to have poor pay and conditions for those working in the Defence Forces. That is a choice that has been made by the State during many years of budget surplus. It is important to be very clear that everybody has called for an improvement in terms and conditions for those working in the Defence Forces, yet it has not been delivered. Nothing about the triple lock or those who talk about peace have in any way inhibited it. That option has been there for the State for a long period. Even while we have had a slow creeping forward on the pay, conditions and terms for those in the Defence Forces, vast amounts have been going into the military industry and Ireland is underwriting huge expenditure in this area. I want to highlight a couple of key points from the finance committee report, which is an agreed report; it is not me saying this. It is the finance committee. Members highlighted serious concerns about the €800 billion that is planned to be spent at EU level. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-25/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-25